Journey to Sustainable Agriculture: September 2015

FALL TERM - Sep 23

September 23

Harvest time at the orchard

We finished our harvest at the orchard.
Time Tool Presentation: Fertilizer Spreaders

There are a few diseases that cause the top of carrots to turn yellow. The problem with this foliar disease is that it causes the top to snap off when you are trying to pull them. A lot of mechanical harvesters work by ripping and pulling, and this can be a problem when these diseases are present.

The weeds are taking over the fields, however, at this stage, they are not detrimental to the crops. Weeding easily in the season when crops like corn were establishing did pay off.

In spite of a great harvest, the apple trees are going to go. They will be removed. They had suffered considerable root rot over the years. There's also the intention of removing them to put some tile drainage for the annual crop production.

FALL TERM - Sep 16

September 16

Harvest at the Orchard

The Story of the Corn Maidens*

According to tradition, Corn Maidens were created in the palm of the right hand of the Great Spirit as guides for the people of the Earth. People were not always able to determine from among the many plants and animals on the Earth what was good for them to eat—what would nourish them vs. what would harm them. So the Corn Maidens were sent to give each clan a single seed of corn that, if properly cared for, would feed and sustain them.

The people took their seeds of corn and planted them in the ground, making a small mound around them. The Corn Maidens sang a song that inspired love and faith in the people. Some people began to tend to the small mound, offering water and caressing the soil around the seed.

Slowly, the corn grew, breaking through the Earth. Like a child, the plant grew strong and beautiful with the love and prayers provided by the people. As the plant grew, the people began to realize how cared for they were by the Great Spirit, and their faith grew, too. As their faith grew, mature ears of corn sprouted from the plant. With the people having the food they needed, the Corn Maidens were no longer needed, and so they returned to their spirit form.

While the Corn Maidens were among the people, some men wanted to make them their own because of their great beauty. To protect themselves, the Great Spirit told the Corn Maidens to place one of the sacred images of the kachina on their heads. Disguised as the kachina, the men could no longer recognize one Corn Maiden from another, making them unable to pursue the Corn Maidens

The Orchard

Just as we did at the Terraces, we are starting to get the fields ready for planting our cover crop for the winter. We harvested the remaining potatoes, pumpkins, and corn. As we harvested, we observe a significant presence of thistle and large patches of night shade (a Solinaceae) in the potato fields. Some of the night shades had flowers, but we think we tilled them before they could add to the seed bank.

Dense patches of Night Shade...

and thisle

We observe the presence of wireworms in some of the potatoes...

Potatoes variety: Cascade, planted May 21

FALL TERM - Sep 9

September 9

First class of our Fall semester. By now the Lower Mainland has received enough effective precipitation to lift most of the water restrictions that were placed during the summer. Some experts believe that in spite of the rain that has fallen so far, it will take some time for the local aquifers to recover from this sever summers drought. It will be interesting to hear more detailed reports from the field on the overall performance of crop production in the region under this extreme weather events. Specially when according to experts, this is going to become more the norm that the exception in our area.

Metro Vancouver water supply declining at ‘startling’ rate

Low rainfall in May and June, current heat wave get the blame

BY DAN FUMANO, THE PROVINCE JULY 8, 2015

http://www.theprovince.com/Metro+Vancouver+water+supply+declining+startling+rate/11190123/story.html

HARVEST TIME AT THE TERRACES!!

Season of the Harvest - by Joseph John Taras Kushnir

Shrouded in leaves of orange
and vibrant yellow is the
bountiful yield of the giving harvest.
The fruition of carefully
planted plans unveil itself
in shades of succulence

GREEK MYTHOLOGY - DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE

The Reason for Seasons

Ancient Myths & Folktales for Kids

Retold by Lin Donn

Zeus, the king of all the gods, had two brothers and three sisters. Each had an important job. His sister, Demeter, was in charge of the harvest. If Demeter did not do her job, the crops could die, and everyone would starve. It was important to keep Demeter happy.

Demeter loved her little daughter, Persephone. As Persephone smiled up at her mother, Demeter's heart swelled with happiness, and the crops grew high and healthy.

Hades, the king of the underworld, was a gloomy fellow. One day Hades fell deeply in love with Persephone. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed Persephone, and dove deep into the darkest depths of the Underworld.

Hades locked Persephone in a beautifully decorated room in the Hall of Hades. He brought her all kinds of delicious food. Persephone refused to eat. She had heard if you ate anything in Hades, you could never leave.

Over a week went by. Finally, in desperate hunger, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds. She promptly burst into tears.

She was not the only one crying. Demeter, her mother, missed her daughter terribly. She did not care if the crops died. She did not care about anything except finding her daughter. No one knows who told Zeus about it, but it was clear this could not go on. Zeus sent his son Hermes to work a deal with Hades.

This was the deal Hermes worked out: If Persephone would marry Hades, she would live as queen of the Underworld for six months each winter. In the spring, Persephone would return to earth and live there for six months.

Every spring, Demeter makes sure flowers are blooming and crops are growing and the fields are green with welcome. Every fall, when Persephone returns to the underworld, Demeter ignores the crops and flowers and lets them die. Each spring, Demeter brings everything to life again, ready to welcome her daughter's return.

To the ancient Greeks, that was the reason for seasons - winter, spring, summer, fall.